The Crane Chronicles Volume 2
by iloveromance
Summary: Random short stories of various genres featuring members of the Crane family and their friends. Based on sentence prompts found in various places.
1. Chapter 1

Martin looked away from the Seahawks game, knowing that it would be a mistake. The Seahawks were losing to the Steelers; badly in fact. But experience had taught him that the game could change in an instant. Still it was hard to concentrate, what with Niles slumped on the sofa, sighing deeply. He knew that he should be sympathetic to his youngest son's… whatever it was that was bothering him, but instead he was just plain annoyed. "Niles, what's the matter with you?"

As Martin expected, Niles seemed oblivious to the fact that he'd been acting like a complete jackass. But he decided to give his son the benefit of the doubt.

"What? Oh, Sorry Dad. I guess I was just feeling sorry for myself."

Well at least Niles was honest. Martin almost smiled in satisfaction. He'd taught his sons well. But now he was curious.

"Why?"

Niles sighed again. "I was just thinking about all of the things I wanted to do with my life."

"Like what?"

"So many things, like write a book, win the Pulitzer Prize; perhaps even go back to school. I just feel as though I have so much more to give to myself and to my patients and frankly I don't have a lot of time left."

"Are you going somewhere?"

Niles shot him a look. "Dad, you know what I mean!"

"No, actually I don't, Niles. I-." And then he froze in alarm, panic-stricken. _No, not again... not this..._ "Niles, what are you saying?"

"Well Dad, I'm certainly not getting any younger and my life seems to be passing before my eyes."

Relieved, Martin smiled. "Niles, you can't do it all at once. This ambition of yours, well it's impressive. Hell, I was never that motivated, so you must have gotten that from your mother. But it's a good trait to have. Just pick the one thing that you most want and go from there."  
Niles chuckled. "That's good advice, Dad. Where did you hear it?"'

"From you. And Fras. Look I know that I'm not much for sentiment but for what it's worth I'm proud of you. Both of you. You and Frasier."

The next thing Martin knew, Niles was on his feet, moving toward him. And then his youngest son's arms were around him. "Thanks Dad. I love you."

Martin would never admit it, but that hug and those words meant the world to him, just as Niles and Frasier meant the world to him too.

 _ **~Fin~/TBC~**_


	2. Chapter 2

"Well Seattle, we've come to another close of our show. Thank you for listening and here's wishing you good mental health."

When he flipped the switch, darkening the ON AIR light, Frasier smiled. It was the end of another memorable moment in his career. And he was always happy when he was able to help the poor lost souls of Seattle find their way.

Unexpectedly the door opened and he turned to see his boss standing beside him.

"Hey Frasier, great show! Really great! Probably your best ever!"

Frasier stood and shook his boss' hand. Rarely had he heard such praise from the new station manager and he liked it. He liked it a lot.

"Well, thank you Kenny. That really means a lot to me. I've worked very hard to make my show the best radio show ever to grace the airwaves."

Kenny's smile disappeared and he ran his hand through his hair. "Um, yeah… about that."

"What?"

"Well, I was just thinking… We should try something new."

Frasier was intrigued. "I'm listening."

"A new format. Something that no one else and no other radio station has ever done before. It'll still be a call in radio show but instead of patients calling in with advice, it'll be cats."

Frasier's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"Yeah, isn't it great? We'll call it Conversations with Cats. And if it's a hit, we can do a spinoff with Dogs. We'll call it, Discussions with Dogs. Your dad can even bring Eddie down here if he wants. In fact, Eddied can be the first guest! I think-."

"GET OUT!" Frasier yelled, rubbing his aching forehead. "Good lord, what has gotten into you?"

Kenny shook his head and moved toward the door. "It was just an idea! Geez, you shrinks are always so touchy!"

 _ **~Fin/TBC~  
**_


	3. Chapter 3

Daphne smiled at her boss when he walked though the door. "Hello, Dr. Crane. Did you have a nice time on your-."

Frasier slammed the door so hard that the noise made her jump in surprise.

"I take it your date with Monika Renfro didn't go so well."

"Gee Niles, whatever gave you _that_ idea?" Frasier snapped.

Niles scoffed. On the outside he seemed unfazed by his older brother's rude and sarcastic comment. But Daphne knew better. On the inside, Niles had been wounded, if only in the slightest. She took a deep breath and decided to defuse the situation as best as she could, before it became any worse. "I'm sorry that things didn't work out, Dr. Crane. I thought that your relationship was going so well."

"Well, you're WRONG, Daphne!" Frasier shouted, startling her yet again.

"Don't speak to her in that tone of voice!" Niles shouted back.

"I'll speak to her any way I _damn well please_!" Frasier yelled.

"Oh really?"

Suddenly Daphne couldn't take it anymore. "Stop it! Both of you! Stop this fighting right now! I can't stand it! I'm sorry your date didn't go well, Dr. Crane."

 _"Didn't go well? Didn't go well?_ It was a _terrible_ date!" Frasier shouted. "The worst _ever_! In fact, not only would she not let me even drive her home from the restaurant, but she said that she refuses to _see_ me again!"

Without waiting for a response, he stormed out of the living room, leaving Niles and Daphne completely baffled about what could have possibly gone wrong. But it was the strange silence that lingered in the living room following Frasier's absence that made her uncomfortable. It was a long time (much too long in Daphne's opinion) before either of them spoke.

"Well, that was certainly-."

Daphne turned away, embarrassed. If only she hadn't said anything about that stupid date of Frasier's. "I'm sorry Dr. Crane. I didn't mean to upset your brother."

"Daphne, you didn't-."

"He'd been talking about that woman for months and I was so relieved when she finally agreed to go out with him. It's a shame that it didn't work out, though. He really liked her."

"He did, didn't he?"

Suddenly a memory came over her; a memory that she thought was long since buried. "I know that feeling."

"What feeling?"

Until Niles asked the question, she had been completely unaware that she'd spoken out loud. And now her eyes welled with tears as the unwanted memory refused to leave her mind.

"It was raining that day but I didn't care. All I cared about was Timothy. Oh how I loved him. Or I thought I did. But unfortunately he didn't feel the same way about me."

"Oh Daphne…"

She felt him move closer to her, but to her horror, the tears spilled onto her cheeks. And she really and truly wished she'd never seen Frasier come home.

"I-I'm sorry, Dr. Crane. I was just…" She found herself in his arms and she cried softly against his shoulder, soothed by the way he was rubbing her back. It was nice to be loved, even if it was only in friendship.


	4. Chapter 4

She was planning a big trip. For months… no, years actually, she'd dreamed of going to the Mediterranean, even before she'd read about it in a romance novel. And when she finally caught a glimpse of the picturesque place in a magazine, it proved to be even more beautiful than the author of that silly romance novel had described it. She knew at that moment that she had to see this magical place for herself. And finally, after all this time, her dream was about to come true.

Her heart fluttered just thinking about it. Dr. Crane had given her his blessing along with a few weeks off, surprising her to no end. Overcome by his unexpected generosity and the emotion that followed, Daphne started to cry and hugged her boss tightly.

"Thank you, Dr. Crane. This means so much to me. You can't imagine…"

He hugged her tighter and smiled. "I think I can. Just do one favor for me, all right?"

She drew back; wiping her tears with the handkerchief he offered and nodded. "Anything, Dr. Crane, anything at all." She beamed.

His hands went to her shoulders and he looked deeply into her eyes. "Just have the time of your life."

She laughed and hugged him again. "Oh I will. Thank you so much!"

When he let go of her she was still smiling, to which he chuckled softly. "Now, you'd better get packed. I'll do the rest."

She caught his meaning immediately and responded by shaking her head. "Oh no, Dr. Crane, I couldn't. You've already been so generous! I-."

"I insist. Now go on."

Daphne hugged him one last time. "I love you."

When he drew back she noticed that he was blushing; a sight that surprised her even further. "I love you too, Daphne." He replied.

As she brushed away the remainder of her tears and disappeared into her room to sort through her clothes, her hear was filled not with the excitement of going to the Mediterranean, but of how much she would miss Dr. Crane while she was gone.

She did love him so.

 ** _~Fin~_**

 ** _A/N Thank you so much for reading and for the reviews. Lots more of these short stories will follow in the future._**


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